As we age our bodies change, limbs stretch out, breasts pop up and hair sprouts in odd places. Physically, growing up is easy. It just happens. But becoming mature emotionally is a trickier matter, partly because it's scary and partly because, as demonstrated by Girls' second season finale, there are so many ways to avoid it.
There's the Jessa route of literally running away. When confronted with the complete dissolution of her marriage and the truth of her father's disregard for her, Girls' resident Bohemian took off to places unknown. A move that echoed her vagabond father who himself serves as a reminder that growing up isn't inevitable, no matter how old you get.
Then there's the Marnie and Charlie method of folding into one another, creating a codependence that combines your insecurities into one (seemingly) stable whole. She claims to be overjoyed that the two of them are finally, at the age of 24, settled down "old fogies" just like she always wanted. Marnie has seemingly let go of her recently reignited singing ambition to play house a decision she assures Charlie has nothing to do with his money. Charlie, for his part, seems content to once again be free of the burden of making decisions based on his own wants and desires. After nearly making a choice to keep the situation casual, he allows Marnie to publicly bully him into a relationship. It's just easier that way.
And lastly there's Hannah who spent the finale (and most of the series) continually being told she needs to grow up. Her editor, her father and Laird all reiterate this point. After a call to Jessa yields no response, she turns to Adam. Hannah still isn't ready to sweep up her own glass. If only she were as persistent in her writing as she is in her attempts to validate her self-pity.
Adam, confronted with a woman requiring him to drop the emotion deflecting games and treat her as an equal in the bedroom, is more than happy to rush back headfirst and shirtless into Hannah's immature fantasy world. As the fun. Song swells, he's got her in his arms and everything's ok, other than an impending lawsuit and her fraying mental health.
The finale does present an alternative to these behaviors. Perhaps ironically, but not unexpectedly, it comes from Shoshannah. After avoiding it for the latter half of the season, she reveals to Ray the problem at the core of their relationship. It isn't his lack of ambition, it's his negative outlook on the world. Their breakup scene is painful, as Ray pleads with her, telling her she doesn't know what she's doing. But it isn't just hard for Ray. Shoshannah loves him, but knows he isn't good for her, not now. It's not an easy realization to act on, but doing so is pretty grown up.
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